Change Leaders and Change Managers
In our first instalment, the terms ‘lead’ and ‘manage’ were mentioned as key styles, both in their day-to-day roles and through periods of change. This blog will discuss and distinguish between the features of ‘change leadership’ and ‘change management’.
Historically, these terms have been used interchangeably to mean the same thing. Research, however, has shown that leadership and management are different things, with each having its own distinct role and characteristics, and both being equally important in the process of change.
The following quote from Randy Pennington, the author of ‘Make Change Work’ sums it up like this:
“Successful change requires both management and leadership . . . more change failures are the result of faulty leadership rather than poor management.”
So, you may be asking, what are these characteristics? Am I able to display qualities of both in times of change and upheaval?
It is not reasonable to suggest that all of these characteristics of both change leaders and managers can be put into place immediately, but it is useful to be mindful of these when the next period of change happens, whether that is due to internal or external factors. Building a positive attitude towards change by showing clear change leadership and management skills is key to being a pioneer of change in school.
We help many schools going through the process of curriculum change, advising senior leadership teams on how to lead and manage their staff to achieve successful outcomes.
